IT partner for port management and logistics: Lufthansa Industry Solutions at the IAPH 2015

Lufthansa Industry Solutions is going to be on hand in Hamburg when the World Port Conference is held there in early June. This wholly-owned subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa AG will be at the IAPH 2015 from June 2 to 4 showing how the increasingly complex processes in the maritime sector can be intelligently controlled with the help of new digital technologies.

One of the projects from its innovation laboratory the IT service provider will be presenting at its stand will be a recently developed pilot system to make pier planning more efficient. It improves predictions of delays and supports decision-making for pier planning. “We see ourselves as an IT partner for port management and logistics, and can look back on a large number of successful projects in this sector,” explains Bernd Appel, Managing Director of Lufthansa Industry Solutions.

Familiar with port management processes

From consulting to completion, Lufthansa Industry Solutions offers all IT services for port authorities, port operators and logistics companies from a one-stop service provider. Apart from developing and operating the IT systems of the Lufthansa freight business (Lufthansa Cargo), the customers of this Lufthansa subsidiary also include the international carrier Panalpina, the Hamburg Süd shipyard and the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA).

Lufthansa Industry Solutions is also supporting the IAPH 2015 as a Gold Sponsor. Moreover, the company will be enhancing the conference program with a lecture on digitizing port logistics entitled “IT is ready for smart solutions” presented by Volker Worthmann, Director of Transport and Logistics (9:00 – 9:20 am on June 3, 2015).

There is hardly any other place where the various actors in logistics meet at such close quarters as in a major port. Maritime shipping, rail and road must be linked in a logistics hub that is as efficient as possible if the port is to withstand competition from other locations. “It is obvious that such a complex operation cannot begin to be accomplished without high-performance IT systems. In the future, only smart ports will be able to meet the growing demands for efficiency, economy, safety and environmental compatibility,” says Bernd Appel. This is also underscored by the motto of the IAPH 2015: “City of Hamburg – Calling at the smartPORT”.

Lufthansa Industry Solutions, based in Norderstedt near Hamburg and with branch offices in Germany, Switzerland and the USA, develops and implements customized IT solutions tailored to its customers’ needs. The roughly 1,000 employees offer strategy and consulting, as well as design, conception and application management. Thus Lufthansa Industry Solutions covers the entire spectrum of IT services.

From a business unit to an independent enterprise

Since April 1, 2015, the former Industry Solutions business unit of Lufthansa Systems AG has been doing business as an independent company. Under the name of Lufthansa Industry Solutions, this full-service provider of IT services has been aligning itself even more scrupulously to the needs of the market. “The digitization of business is opening up great potential for new value-added models and more growth to our customers in many industries. We help companies to exploit this potential by optimizing production and work processes,” explains Managing Director Bernd Appel.

As a business unit of Lufthansa Systems AG, Lufthansa Industry Solutions has already been deeply integrated into the IT processes of non-flying group companies. At present, the customer base of Lufthansa Industry Solutions comprises a total of around 150 companies in various industries, ranging from SMEs to corporations listed on the DAX. These include, for instance, companies from the automotive, energy, manufacturing, healthcare, transport and logistics sectors, as well as media and publishing companies.